Everyones Health - UK

A more effective flu vaccine for those aged 65 and over this winter has the potential to prevent deaths and significantly reduce the burden on the NHS.

The vaccine, to be available for the first time this year in october for those aged 65 and over, could reduce GP consultations by 30,000, hospitalisations by over 2,000 and prevent over 700 hospital deaths from flu in England, alleviating some of the health burden that seasonal flu places on the population, workplaces and the NHS.

The newly available ‘adjuvanted’ vaccine is expected to significantly boost effectiveness by improving the body’s immune response to the vaccine. This is important because typically, older adults’ bodies do not respond as well to the flu vaccine due to their naturally weaker immune systems.

This protects against a total of four strains of flu; two strains of flu A and two strains of flu B.

The vaccination programme will also be improved by extending the nasal spray vaccine to primary school children in year 5 (650,000 extra children), meaning the vaccine will be offered to children in years reception, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. The programme will eventually roll out to all primary school children.

When this happens, evidence suggests that an additional 63,000 GP consultations could be prevented each year. Due to having typically poorer hand hygiene than adults, children tend to be ‘super-spreaders’ of flu, so protecting them is crucial for protecting the rest of the population.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD), with stroke and heart attack being the most common examples, is the leading cause of death for men and the second leading cause of death for women.

A quarter (24,000) of CVD deaths are in people under the age of 75, with 80% of these preventable if people made lifestyle and behaviour changes to improve their heart health.

High cholesterol and high blood pressure can both increase someone’s heart age, making them up to 3 times more likely to develop heart disease or have a stroke.

Amazon’s Treasure Truck will arrive in London and Manchester for 2 days to support the campaign and Omron’s nurses and technicians will be testing the blood pressure of as many people as possible. The events will be in London and Manchester on Tuesday 4 and Wednesday 5 September.

People with “hidden disabilities” including autism and mental health conditions will become eligible for blue badge parking permits under the largest overhaul of the system in 40 years.

From next year, those with less immediately obvious illnesses will have the same right to a badge allowing them to park closer to their destinations as those with physical disabilities, the Department for Transport said.

It said that while the current rules covering the badge scheme in England do not specifically exclude those with non-physical disabilities they “are open to interpretation” by local authorities and required greater clarity.

Transport Minister Jesse Norman said: “Blue badges are a lifeline for disabled people, giving them the freedom and confidence to get to work and visit friends independently.

Hertfordshire’s new Public Health Strategy 2017-21 has now been published. It explains our vision for a healthy and happy Hertfordshire, where everyone is born as healthy as possible and lives a full and happy life. Read the full strategy.

The revised advice, based on the latest scientific evidence, means that people vulnerable to infection or who are likely to suffer serious symptoms from food poisoning (such as infants, children, pregnant women and elderly people) can now safely eat raw or lightly cooked hen eggs or foods containing them.

The decision to change the advice is a result of the findings from an expert group that was set up by the Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food (ACMSF) found that the presence of salmonella in UK eggs has been dramatically reduced in recent years, and the risks are very low for eggs which have been produced according to food safety controls applied by the British Lion Code of Practice. More than 90% of UK eggs are produced under this scheme.

Britons really do eat too much sugar: 700g of the sweet stuff a week. That's an average of 140 teaspoons per person.

Stop taking sugar and start using sweetners instead, not only reduces sugar intake, it also less Calories too.

27 September 2017'Instant' blood test for heart attacks could slash A&E waiting times

The new test is much more accurate than the one currently on offer and could free up doctors' time and NHS beds if rolled out nationally over the next 5 years. It works by analysing biomarkers, including cardiac troponin.

It is thought that more than two-thirds of people who go to A&E with chest pain have not had a heart attack.

Scientists from King's College London have now developed a new test that looks for another biomarker - cardiac myosin-binding protein C (cMyC) - which is found to be even more sensitive at detecting damage to the heart muscle.

Levels of cMyC in the blood increase more rapidly after a heart attack, and to a higher extent, than troponin.

Experts calculated that just one UK hospital - St Thomas' in London, which carries out 7,800 heart attack tests each year - could save £800,000 a year by reducing admissions and freeing up beds.

West Herts NHS staff swapped uniforms for Pyjamas in order to highlight how nursing, midwifery and care staff have a significant role to play in transforming the provision and delivery of care across different settings.

13 March 2017How dogs may help fight cancer
Detecting changes in blood glucose levels in type 1 diabetes patients and urine samples from those with prostate cancer.

1 March 2017Early warning signs of heart attacks 'being missed'
Early warning signs may have been missed in up to one in six people who died of a heart attack in English hospitals, a study suggests.

All heart attack admissions and deaths between 2006 and 2010 were analysed.

1 March 2017Women warned about private Down's syndrome tests
Pregnant women are being urged to ask questions of private providers offering a new test for Down's syndrome.

It says some fail to make it clear that non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) can offer only an estimate of Down's risk and is not diagnostic.